The True Marauders
by Jayden M. Perth
Summary: Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were not the only ones who called themselves the Marauders. There were two girls as well that earned the title of mischief maker and joined the boys on their night journeys. This is their story.
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer: **None of the characters previously mentioned in the Harry Potter books are unter my ownership...sadly...

"I'll miss you so much, Jay Perth!"

"I'll miss you more, Kyoko Takashen!"

I hugged my best friend with tears running down my cheek. I was not one for crying (it's for sissies), but Kyo had been my best and, well, only true friend since, like, two. Now that we were eleven, we were going to different schools in different parts of Britain. Separation is a horrible thing.

My train came into the station first, as she had scheduled her ride for a later time. She had things to do before she left. With one last hug from her, and a ruffle of my hair, I boarded the train. Finding a seat close to where she was standing on the platform, I waved at her and smiled. Our last day together for a long, long time had come to an end.

The train shuffled forward, and the platform was soon out of sight. I took a small mirror out of my handbag and checked how horribly she had messed up my hair. The short black waves only came down to my chin, so it didn't look too bad. I took a long look at my face in the mirror. I saw an eleven year old Caucasian girl staring back at me. She had soft grey eyes that usually had a few stray hairs in front of them. Her eyes were tearstained and her face red. I wiped away the tears with one sleeve. I hadn't realized I had cried that much. I thought myself a crybaby and then took out my book to read as the train made its way through the British countryside.

About an hour into my ride, I closed my book and pulled a piece of paper out of my bag. I had received it a month ago, and it was informing me that I had been accepted to a highly recommended school. But this school wasn't just any school, oh no! I had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I was a witch.

My parents were so proud when my letter came via owl, but only my dad knew what it really meant. He finally got around to telling my mom that he, in fact, was a wizard. She was so surprised that she almost fainted, but he grabbed her and conjured a glass of water for her on the table in front of him. Then she did faint.

My father was not the businessman he pretended to be. As he told us so bluntly, he was an Auror. His "business trips" really involved staking out and shadowing would-be criminals, apprehending them if necessary. This my mother had not known until I received my letter.

My books and wand were now stowed away in my trunk, and my owl was to be sent to Hogwarts when I got there, as we didn't want to attract unwanted attention from Muggle (or non-wizard) passers-by.

I reread my letter a million times, checking to see if I had missed or forgotten anything important. I was so involved in reading, that I jumped a mile high when a male's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"_We are now approaching Grand Central Station. All those who deboard the train at Grand Central Station, please gather your belongings. Grand Central Station_." It said as the train started to slow. The man's voice sounded as if he was so bored with saying the station names as the train approached them. I could see where he was coming from.

I grabbed my bag and trunk and got off the train as it came into the station. I was too busy with my belongings that I never noticed how marvelous Grand Central was. When I finally had the chance to be aware of my surroundings, I stood in awe of them. People were bustling here and there; others were running to catch their trains. Conductors were shouting "All aboard" and the trains were honking their horns as if eager to leave this crowded, noisy place.

I stood leaning against a pillar until I finally had the sense to look down at my watch. I had a couple hours to spare, so I bought a magazine and some chocolate bars to pass the time. I sat down on a bench by the magazine stand and started to flip through the ever popular _Britteen_ Magazine. I munched away on my chocolate bars as I turned page after page. Before I knew it, my train was scheduled to leave within a half hour. I picked up my bag, slung it over my shoulder and hauled my trunk to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. My dad had told me how to get onto Platform 9 ¾, so I had no trouble at all leaning into the solid brick barrier between platforms nine and ten. I hoped that no muggle noticed me, but usually they were too blind, so I didn't worry too much. A tingling sensation ran down my spine as I passed through the brick wall to the adventure that was awaiting me.

((Hope you enjoyed the first of many chapters! Reviews are always welcome!))


	2. The Boys

A scarlet train with the words "Hogwarts Express" greeted me with a _toot! _as I wheeled my trunk through the crowds of chattering schoolchildren, some in street clothes, others in black robes that came down to their ankles. My robes were safely packed in my trunk, and I hadn't planned to put them on until the train started moving.

All of them were speaking of one thing or another, some about Quiddich matches, others about the spells they forgot over the summer break. One boy was even sending spells at another boy, provoking the victim to send a flash of red light at the attacker. I shook my head in disgust as I wheeled the cart in the direction of the train door.

All of a sudden, as I passed a bunch of chattering blondes, my cart hit something and stopped, sending the contents of my book bag spilling all over the ground. Quills and rolls of parchment rolled this way and that as I quickly reached down to gather them all up.

Another person began to help me pick up my supplies. I looked up at the person as they grabbed the last quill. It was a boy of about my age. He had short brown hair and grey eyes like mine, and he was already changed into his robes. He stuck out his hand to help me up as he spoke.

"Hey. You alright?" he asked as I took his hand. It was somewhat rough in places, but very smooth none-the-less. He pulled me up and I stumbled to my feet.

"I'm fine" I replied, brushing the dust off of my pants. "Sorry for hitting your cart." I added as I saw his cart and mine touching. He reached out a hand to help me up as he spoke.

"Don't worry about it. I'm Remus. Remus Lupin. First Year."

"Jayden Perth. Call me Jay. First year as well" I said as I took his hand once more. He smiled and looked up at the clock located above our heads.

"We better get a seat soon. We only have a few minutes left. Why don't we sit together?" He said. I too, looked at the clock. We had 5 minutes to spare, so I followed Remus as he boarded the train and found an empty compartment. We chatted for a while as we unloaded our things into the overhead bin and sat down. As soon as we had taken a seat, the compartment door opened, revealing a black-haired boy. He was my age as well and had glasses that he pushed up every once in a while.

"Why hullo James! It's been too long!" Remus said joyfully as he approached what I assumed to be an acquaintance of his. They exchanged hugs and handshakes before sitting down across from me. I introduced myself and found the boy's name to be James Potter. He was also in his robes, but they already were a bit scruffier than Remus'. There was an awkward silence before James spoke up.

"There's another boy coming that'll probably join us. I met him on the platform. The name of…Sirius Black, I believe. Seemed nice, but had a bit of an anger management problem with that grease-nosed boy out there…" he said, his voice fading away as the compartment door slid open again, this time to present a boy with longish black hair, almost exactly like mine, except a lot straighter. He looked about at the occupants of the compartment with a smile on his face, his blue eyes landing on me.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked, smiling.

"Oh, no…sorry." I said as I looked away, I had been staring at him for a few moments. I could help but think how cute he was though "….hmm…nah. He'd probably never go for a girl like me." I thought as I began staring out the window. The boy introduced himself as the Sirius Black that James had met on the platform.

The train lurched forward as Sirius sat down next to me, his hands behind his head. The boys exchanged bits of conversation about their bloodlines (they were all pureblood), childhoods, and the muggle schools they went to. I chimed in every once in a while, but for the better part of an hour, I kept my eyes on the scenery outside. I finally tore my eyes away from the window for the last time as a girl outside yelled at the top of her lungs.


	3. Hogwarts

The voice sounded familiar, but I thought nothing of it, as I didn't know anyone on this train until today. I did stand up however, to see what the commotion was about. I stepped up to the compartment door and stuck my head out as a boy screamed at another person. I could feel the boys behind me doing the same. What I saw appalled me.

A boy and a girl were going at it in the middle of the aisle way, and it seemed the girl was winning. She was kicking some serious butt. I couldn't see the girls face, as her chin-length brown hair covered it, but the boy's face was bad enough. He had sallow skin, a greased nose, and his hair was messed up from the fighting. He was not a good fighter, but he had held up until now.

Making the final blow, a kick to the back of the boy's knee, the girl sent the defeated boy to the ground. Only when she turned around did I get to see her face. It took me half a second to recognize my best friend.

"KYO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. She didn't realize who had called her, so she looked around at the group of students that was starting to form. Then she glanced my way and a look of surprise passed over her face.

"Jay? Jay? Is that you? But…but…I thought you were at a boarding school." Kyo said looking me straight in the eye. She walked toward me, her brown and yellow eyes sparkling with delight.

"I am! I got the same letter you did. We are both going to Hogwarts!" I replied. We embraced and reentered the compartment I had been in moments ago. Kyo sat next to Remus and across from me. We talked about our families and how they reacted when we each got our letters. This time it was the boys who were silent for quite a while. Once in a while, Remus or James would reply to a question about the wizarding world, but Sirius was quiet the rest of the train ride.

Finally, the scarlet express train pulled into the Hogwarts/Hogsmeade station. Eager to begin the new school year, dozens of students were cramming the hallways. Everyone wanted to be off the train and out into the open air. In the crowds, I lost track of my group. I couldn't see the school from here, but I expected we'd get a chance soon enough. I was reunited with Sirius, James, Remus and Kyo when we all followed the voice of a man calling "First Years, First Years this way!

As a group, all of the first years followed the man who I supposed to be a teacher. He looked old enough to be a professor, but he was clean-cut. He introduced himself as Professor Cuthbert and he lead us down a winding trail through a dense forest of evergreen trees. Our first view of the school came when we followed the teacher around a bend in the trail he was leading us down. On the other side of a huge lake stood a castle so big that one could only assume it to be the school.

Professor Cuthbert led all of the first years down to a fleet of boats at the edge of the lake. He told us to get in and to not touch the water or the lanterns that hung from a pole sticking up at the front of the boats. Soon enough we were crossing the lake toward the huge castle. I pinched myself to make sure that this wasn't a dream, and then looked over at Kyo who seemed to be doing the exact same thing. The boats drifted across the gigantic lake and into an inlet that seemed to be directly underneath the castle. Professor Cuthbert was the first out of the boats, directing us onto the shore and helping the sallow skinned boy who had fallen into the lake moments before. Sirius, James and I were laughing, while Remus tutted behind our backs. Once everyone was safe and dry, the professor knocked on a giant wooden door in the rock wall.


	4. Saturday

I awoke with a start the next morning. I reached for my muggle watch on the nightstand to check the time. Stunned, I tapped the face of the watch to make sure it was telling the correct time. 9:07! I was late! The first day at Hogwarts and I had already slept in past nine!

I was in the middle of slipping into my blue jeans when the girl in the four-poster next to mine stirred. I was startled that another girl in my dorm had slept in as late as I had. To my even greater surprise, the girl poked her head out of the curtains and gave me a funny look.

"What?" I asked her as I pulled my new 'Weird Sisters' crimson shirt over my head. She tucked a lock of her fiery red hair behind her ear and sighed.

"Why you would want to get up this early on a Saturday is beyond me." she pulled her head back behind her curtains. A second later, the girl stepped out from her bed. Her nightgown trailed as she stepped over to her trunk. "But I'll join you." She added, pulling her clothes out of her trunk.

I smacked myself in the forehead. Duh, it was Saturday. No wonder no one was up. I smacked my forehead again. Gawd, I was so stupid. When I looked up, the read-haired girl was dressing in neat school clothes and her robes.

I turned to look in the body-length mirror between Kyo's and my bed. I knew she was still sleeping, as I could hear snoring coming from behind the curtains. Acting on an impulse, I tore back the curtains and yelled at the top of my lungs.

"KYO! WAKE UP! IT'S SATURDAY!" I screamed. She and the two other girls in the dorm sat up with a start. When she realized who had woken her up, she reached to strangle me, but got caught up in her blankets and landed face first on the floor. Both the read-haired girl and I laughed loudly as Kyo untangled herself from her sheets. She left to wash her face in the bathroom while my companion and I continued laughing.

As soon as we caught out breath, we both went to make up our beds and grab our wands. By that time, Kyo had returned grinning. She dressed and the three of us headed down to the Gryffindor Common Room, chatting all the while. Kyo and I learned that the other first-year girl's name was Lily Evans, and that she was muggle-born like Kyo. We reached the common room laughing at one of Kyo's jokes.

We sat down on the couch next to Remus who was starting into the fire. He greeted us with a smile, although he didn't take his eyes off the flickering flames. When Lily and Kyo continued with their conversations of how they thought magic worked, I stood up and moved so I was sitting on the other side of Remus. He leaned back with his hands in his lap and his eyes closed and sighed as if he had remembered something very sad. I was going to ask him what was wrong, but at that instant, a door slammed from somewhere upstairs and two male voices came drifting down into the common room. James and Sirius were conversing as they walked down from their dormitory as I had done with Kyo and Lily.

They took one look at the four of us sitting there, particularly Kyo, Lily and me, looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" spoke Lily and I in unison. They were laughing so hard that they couldn't answer, so Kyo turned to Remus, who was smiling too. She looked very puzzled as she asked. "What's with them? Jay doesn't look _that_ funny."

I stared open mouthed at her, but I couldn't help but have the slightest bit of a smile playing on my lips. We deserved to be each other's best friend. By this time, James was clutching to the back of Lily's chair for support and Sirius had collapsed in the armchair opposite me, still laughing.

"They stayed up all night talking. I only heard bits and pieces of it, so I don't know what they are laughing about." He said innocently. "At least I _got_ some sleep." He added as Sirius and James struggled to catch their breaths.

I looked over at Lily to catch her rolling her eyes. James was grinning at her, still containing his laughter. Sirius was still smiling, but he had stopped laughing.

"Wouldn't you like to know what we were talking about, Takashen." he said, running a hand through his long black hair and sitting up a little straighter. Lily took her eyes off of James and, still with a disgusted look on her face, looked up at Sirius.

"Actually, Black, that is exactly what we'd like to know." She said, standing up and walking to the opposite side of the room from James. One could tell James wasn't too excited about that, but he didn't make it too obvious. He took Lily's seat and turned to the rest of the group.

"Eh, we were just talking about stuff." He said, as innocently as Remus, only no one believed he was really that innocent.

"Enough with the talking. I'm hungry." Sirius spoke up. "Why don't we converse over our first Hogwarts breakfast?"


	5. Schedules and Breakfast

The rest of us murmured an "Alright" and a "Yeah, sure" as they stood up. We left the common room in pairs, continuing to talk about random things, such as Nearly-headless Nick, whom we passed as we walked. I walked with Sirius and Kyo with Remus. They seemed to be having a spirited discussion about magical beasts and such. A disgruntled Lily was walking with James and she looked none too pleased about it. He smiled at her every chance he got, but she only rolled her eyes as she ran to catch up with Sirius and me.

"He is _so_ annoying" Lily whispered as she walked beside me. I looked over my shoulder at the black haired boy she was talking about. He had joined Remus and Kyo in the conversation about Nearly-headless Nick. I turned back to Lily and rolled my eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it. Instead, she looked straight ahead at the door to the Great Hall, which was quickly approaching. Remus stepped in to open the door for the six of us, and we took a seat at the table we had sat at only hours ago. This morning, the table was set with every kind of breakfast food imaginable. Included in this were Belgian waffles, sausages, fruit, and eggs, or at least that's all that I piled onto my plate. One of the boys down the table from us had something that looked like vanilla pudding on his.

There was an awkward silence as everyone dug into their breakfasts except Remus. He just pushed his eggs from one side of the plate to the other. I guessed he wasn't feeling his best. Maybe he had eaten something last night; he had looked a bit peaky.

The morning went by quickly, and sooner than I expected, I found myself sitting under a beech tree on the grounds. All of my fellow classmates were examining their schedules, each with a different emotion displaying on their faces. Remus looked quite happy, as did I, but James had a look of pure disgust.

"We have classes with the Slytherins Monday, Thursday, and Friday! Potions, Transfiguration, and more Potions!" he groaned. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the tree and groaned again.

"Ah, come on James!" Kyo spoke up. "I mean, Slytherins can't be _that_ bad! Besides, one of those classes is with Professor Dumbledore, so they can't do anything there." I knew she was trying to brighten the mood, but she was thinking about the grease-haired boy and how she would have to see him three days a week.

During all of this, Remus and Sirius hadn't said a word. Most of us knew why Sirius was quiet. His mum had sent him a Howler during breakfast. I doubted that he wasn't thinking about her screaming voice saying "DISGRACEFUL!" and "TALK TO THE SLYTHERIN HEAD OF HOUSE FOR A TRANSFER!" Sirius had moved to the other side of the beech tree and was staring out at the lake.

The others seemed involved in their discussion, so I silently moved next to where he was sitting.

"What's on your mind?" I asked. I smiled as he looked up at me slightly startled.

"Just…stuff" he replied, turning back. We watched as the Giant Squid stuck a tentacle out of the water and brought it down on the surface, splashing a passing third-year.

"You know," Sirius said after a moment's silence. "I'm glad I was put into Gryffindor. I'm glad I didn't follow in my family's footsteps." Smiling for the first time since breakfast, he punched me in the arm. "I wouldn't be friends with you…or James, Kyo, Lily, Remus…" he added. He stood up and offered me a hand to help me up. I grinned and led the way back to our cluster of friends.

Sunday came and went and the Monday morning sun woke me up early. I dressed in jeans and a navy blue halter-top. My robes went over those clothes, and I slipped my feet from slippers into black boots. My books for Monday classes were already in my Chudley Cannons book bag, so making the least noise possible, I slipped it over my shoulder and headed into the Common Room. Once again, I found Remus already up. He didn't look up as I stepped on the last stair. He jumped a mile in the air when I spoke a hello, so he must have been concentrating on something else. I was too tired to strike up a conversation; so instead, I took a seat in front of a gigantic window and stared out onto the grounds. The sun was just beginning it's ascent into the heavens, perhaps it was 6:30. I pulled out my class list and checked what time my first class began. "Charms 8:00" it read. Eight o'clock seemed a long ways off now.

The grounds were coated in early morning dew, and the leaves were just starting to fall from the trees in the Forbidden Forest. Perfect weather in my opinion.

I sat at the window for a while, only looking away when I heard a rustle nearby. I found Remus standing up and stretching. He moved toward the common room door, which was a few feet to my left. He spotted me in my armchair and stopped. There was a split-second silence before he spoke.

"Um, I'm going to get some breakfast. Join me?" he said, extending his arm. I opened my mouth to speak but before I could utter a word, my stomach did the talking for me. It let out an embarrassingly large rumble at the sound of food.

"I guess that's a yes!" he added. He looked quite happy that someone was accompanying him. I stood up and took his arm as we exited the common room together.

The hallways were fairly silent as we walked down toward the Great Hall. The only sound disrupting this silence were the patter of a few student's feet and the hurried whispers of the rare student's around me.

I slipped my arm out of his as we came closer to the Great Hall. He opened the door for me and a couple of passing girls. They giggled when he smiled at them, and I rolled my eyes. The Gryffindor table was empty, except for the few students that had gathered at the east end. I took a seat near the pile of waffles and took a couple (ok, maybe five or six) and dug in. Remus, being his dainty self, took one and ate it in very small bites as I stuffed my face.

I mopped my plate up with one last bite as the Great Hall's oak doors opened for the millionth time this morning. Lily came in first and it looked as if she was lecturing the two boys behind her. James and Sirius mocked her sternness by over exaggerating her movements when her back was turned. The two seemed to be becoming the best of friends even though we'd only been here three days.

Breakfast ended within the next half-hour, and all the students were dismissed to their first class of the semester. James led the way, with Sirius and Remus tailing him. Lily, Kyo, and I took up the rear, talking about the boys in front of us.

"Oh-em-gee…you and Sirius make such a cute couple, Jay" Kyo whispered excitedly.

"How did you ever get that idea?" I replied. "In fact, how can you even think that? We've known these boys for three days and you are already playing matchmaker?" I rolled my eyes and then hurried my pace to catch up with the boys. Perhaps their conversation would be a bit more interesting.


	6. Classes

The day went by fairly smoothly. After Charms came History of Magic, and then lunch. After lunch, came Potions, where the day went downhill a bit. The grease-haired boy was, of course in Slytherin, so he was in Potions with us, to Kyo's dismay. "Forty-five minutes of Slytherinized hell" as James had taken to calling it. Professor Cuthbert was the potions teacher, so the class itself was not the worst of the period. The Slytherins had taken to the tradition of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin and were taunting some and picking on others. One boy had even stolen Heather Punicci's glasses and was holding them high above her head when the professor wasn't watching. Heather was crying slightly. A simple yet well placed hex got Heather her spectacles back. I did a little bow for the couple of students who were watching as the bell rang for class to end. I gathered my books and headed for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

James, Sirius, Remus, Kyo, Lily, and I stood outside the classroom and joked around waiting for the class room to open. Kyo, Lily and Remus couldn't stop laughing at a squib joke James had just told as the classroom door creaked open. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor invited us into the classroom and the six of us took seats in the far corner. Professor Donovan was the most enthusiastic teacher we were unlucky enough to get. It seemed that she was just a little bit too obsessed with the Dark Arts or Defense thereof. Both Kyo and I became the slightest bit spooked by her over exaggerated gestures and the odd stare she gave the class when she talked in her mystifying voice.

The class was over (luckily) in forty-five minutes, and class let out for the rest of the day. Most of the Hogwarts students mulled about in their respective common rooms, or headed outside to enjoy the weather. Our group dropped our books off in our dorms and adjourned to the outside grounds.

"That wasn't so bad" Remus commented as we walked toward the beech tree we had deemed our hangout. He seemed to be feeling much better than he had this morning, and was even smiling at random people that we passed.

"It wasn't for you, that's for sure" Sirius replied sitting down under the shade of the tree's long branches. "You're not the one she was staring at almost the whole class…"

"Gave me the creeps" I cut in. Her stare had been a bit spooky. I shivered as if someone had just put ice cubes down my back.

"Well if you hadn't been talking the entire period, perhaps she wouldn't have stared at you four." Lily said, pointing at Sirius, James, Kyo, and I. "We might not have gotten homework either if it hadn't been for your mouths!" With that, she pulled her Defense against the Dark Arts book out and began looking up the spell Professor Donovan had told us to do a bit of work on. Every now and then she would look up from her book and either roll her eyes or _tut, tut, tut_ us as we spoke about this afternoon's classes.

Dinnertime rolled around and the feast was just as big as the start of term one. Everyone ate to their fill and then headed up to the common room to work on homework they had received for Monday.

"_I've_ already done my homework." Lily continued to say as the crowd of Gryffindors piled through the portrait hole. "I don't have to do _my_ homework because _I've_ already done it!"

It wasn't until James told her to shut up that she stopped talking. We were all very relieved when she climbed the stairs in a huff and slammed the dormitory door behind her, making our quills shift in the ink bottles. The homework for the first school day was easy, as logic would have foretold, so the five of the group still remaining finished quickly, leaving the rest of the evening for talking and other random pleasures.


	7. Black vs Black

The rumors about Headmaster Dippet's announcement spread like wildfire on the crisp morning that was Friday. He had spoken of an event taking place at Hogwarts that hadn't happened in quite sometime, but would continue to happen for a long, long time. That was the only hints he gave the whispering crowds Thursday night. By Friday morning, everyone had an idea of the event that they thought for sure was correct. They were muttering them all during breakfast and during the first class of the day which happened to be Study Hall for First-Year Gryffindors.

The more I heard everyone's ideas, the more they sounded ridiculous.

The spread of whispers continued out into the corridors after Study Hall but before the next class was to start.

"I heard that two professors are dueling!" said one girl who seemed to have taken some extra hyper pills during breakfast. The image of Professor Dumbledore sending a ray of red light at Professor Donovan popped into my head and I smiled as I looked back at the extra excited girl. She jumped up and down as if the idea of two professors dueling was the high point of her day. I was about to contradict her thought when a loud bang erupted from the end of the corridor I was walking along. "What the bloody hell was that?" James and Kyo muttered in unison as I stood breathing heavily. The shotgun sound had given me a start, that's for sure. I did nothing but shrug my shoulders as the students looked this way and that for answers. A group was starting to form at the end of the corridor, and I, being the curious person I am, went to investigate, following Sirius to the scene of the disturbance. I could hear the patter of Lily, James, Kyo, and Remus jogging behind me. I passed Sirius in the crowd already gathered, and was pushed to the inner edge of the open circle.

On the ground was a red-haired boy, clutching his right arm with his left hand. Standing above and a little east of him was a girl who had a strange likeness to Sirius. Same hair and eye color, but she was…different. She didn't have the mischievous glint in her eyes. No, her eyes were full of hatred, not innocent fun. I recognized her instantly as Belletrix Black, Sirius' older cousin, one of the muggle-haters James had pointed out to me on the first day.

She was pointing her wand down at the boy. As his fingers crept toward his wand, which was laying a foot away from him, I realized that Bellitrix was in Slytherin house and the boy was one of us: a Gryffindor.

"How'd you feel now you little creep. That was just a starter. You should have learned never to give me cheek…" Bellitrix was muttering as her face grew redder and redder with anger. She must have been thinking of what hex or jinx to use on him, because a moment later she opened her mouth. Her hex was cut off however by a blast of goldenrod light from behind me, and a shout of "_Petrificus Totallus_". The next moment, Bellitrix was face up, arms and legs tight together, and Sirius was pushing past me with a quiet "Sorry for scaring you".

He walked out into the open circle toward his cousin. He looked down at her with a serious expression on his face.

"You do that enough to me at home. I won't let you do it to anyone here" he said in a barely audible whisper. Then his face broke into a smile as he turned to face the injured boy. As he knelt down, I noticed another Slytherin, a boy quietly pull his wand from his pocket and point it at Sirius. I withdrew mine as well, but James sent another Full Body Bind hex his way before I could mutter the incantation. Remus, Kyo, and James had already approached Sirius, so I joined them as they surrounded the injured boy, who was checking out the frozen Bellitrix over Sirius' shoulder. He was smiling at the defeat of his attacker, but was still clutching his arm, which looked as if it was bleeding heavily.

"Thanks, err…Sirius." The boy said. "Thanks a lot. I'm Denin, by the way, Denin Tribal."

"Well Denin," I said after we had all made our introductions. "We need to get you to the hospital wing. Your arm is bleeding pretty bad." Remus and James escorted Denin to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing as Kyo, Lily and I congratulated Sirius for a job well done.

"That was extraordinary," Kyo exclaimed.

"Amazing" I agreed.

"Thanks girls, but it's not over yet. Bellitrix isn't going to take this too well." Sirius replied, even though he was grinning ear to ear.


	8. The Announcement

The big event was to be announced by Headmaster Dippet that evening. The entire student body was present at dinner, including Denin, whose arm was fully healed with the touch of Madam Pomfrey's wand.

"What do you think it's going to be?" Kyo asked. I could tell she was excited, but then again, who wasn't. Sirius chuckled and then replied.

"Well, we can rule out quiddich, Triwizard Tournament –" he started.

"Dueling", I cut in, remembering the way-too-high-on-sugar girl I had seen earlier.

"Ya, Dueling. Anything dangerous is defiantly of the list. Knowing Dippet, we can't expect anything more dangerous than a pillow fight…" Sirius said, muttering the last few words in disgust.

Our conversation was cut short when Headmaster Dippet stood up to speak. The entire room fell to a dead silence as he opened his mouth.

"As you all know, there is to be a special event this year. I am lucky enough to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting-"he paused for a moment for the suspense to sink in. "-a masquerade ball for its students." An explosion of whispers filled the Great Hall. It was only when the Headmaster clapped his hands that the room fell quiet once more.

"You will each receive a letter tonight stating the rules and what character you will be portraying at the ball. The character will reflect your personality and your soul. Now, without further ado, let us eat." The tables filled once again with, food and the students dug in, still whispering about the ball.

"Who do you think we'll be going as?" Remus asked, looking positively frightened. Why he would be frightened at a time like this had me puzzled. It didn't concern me for long, as Nearly Headless Nick popped up through the hot wings platter at that exact moment, causing everyone at that part of the table to jump and yell out in fright.

"Nick," I said breathlessly. "Isn't that the second time this week that you've done that? Bloody…"

Nick departed to speak with a teacher I didn't know, and we continued our conversation.

"Well, you're really not supposed to know who your friends are, are you?" Kyo pointed out as the rest of us began eating once more. "Isn't the point to find out how someone really is without the burden of their looks?"

"Lily, you're being smart again. It doesn't suit you." James said, causing the rest of us to laugh and Kyo to roll her eyes.

Soon enough, dinner was over and the student body filtered out of the Great Hall. The Gryffindors were some of the last to leave, and we reached our common room around 8:00, leaving a bit of time for the homework that we had not yet finished. We had all weekend of course, but the weekend was for fun, and you couldn't have fun with homework hanging on your conscience, now could you?

Finally to tired to last the last few words of my essay, I followed Kyo and Lily up to the dormitories for some well-needed rest. Lying on my bed was the letter that the Headmaster had mentioned. The three of us picked up our letters and opened them in unison. I took out the biggest piece of parchment and read the letter to myself.

_Dear Miss Perth, _

_As you may know, Hogwarts is hosting the Masquerade Ball this coming Saturday. The theme of this year's ball is "Muggle Entertainment". Each student will become a character from a Muggle book, show, movie, or play. Your character written on the card that is accompanied with this letter. Please read this letter to the end before you look at your card._

_Firstly, we must address the rules. All Hogwarts rules apply to the dance, and if you have any questions about them, all rules in full are posted on the door to Mr. Filch's office. We also ask that your dress robes be coordinated with your character. Please do not put on peasants clothes if your character is royalty. _

_The cutoff of the ball is midnight, and at the twelfth ringing of the clock, your character will dissolve, and your own face will appear to the student body. You may now look at your card. As a warning, you will change into your character, so any uncomfort you may feel will pass momentarily._

_Sincerely, _

_Hogwarts Staff_

I looked down at the envelope and noticed another piece of parchment sticking out of it. I removed it from the envelope and turned it over. Written in gold ink was my character.

Christine

Le Fantom De Le Opera

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((This is not the end of "The True Marauders"! I will continue to add chapters as the story grows, so check back here for updates if you've enjoyed this part of the story! As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated!))


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